Picture frame

ABSTRACT

A picture frame comprised of a plurality of elongated frame members connected at mitered corners. It includes continuous concentric grooves along a back portion of the frame facilitating mounting and tightening of a canvas thereon. The first, outer groove receives the outer peripheral edge of the canvas which is fixed thereto by means of staples and/or glue. A continuous ridge is provided between the concentric grooves to separate the grooves and to provide a tightening point whereby the canvas may further be stretched across the opening of the frame. After the canvas has been fixed to the first groove, it is then pushed into and fixed to the bottom portion of the second groove thereby tightening the canvas across the frame opening. Elongated strips are provided to facilitate fastening the canvas within the second groove.

United States Patent [1 1 Saad 1 Dec. 2, 1975 1 1 PICTURE FRAME [76] Inventor: Michel H. Saad, c/o Dana Electronic Computer Co., Bldg. 105, Spokane Ind. Park, Spokane,

Wash. 99216 [22] Filed: Feb. 25, 1974 [21] App1.No.:445,130

[52] US. Cl. 40/152 [51] Int. Cl. G09F 1/12 [58] Field of Search 40/152, 156; 160/380, 378

Primary Examiner-Robert W. Michell Assistant ExaminerWenceslao .1. Contreras Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Wells, St. John & Roberts [57] ABSTRACT A picture frame comprised of a plurality of elongated frame members connected at miteredcorners. It includes continuous concentric grooves along a back portion of the frame facilitating mounting and tightening of a canvas thereon. The first, outer groove receives the outer peripheral edge of the canvas which is fixed thereto by means of staples and/or glue. A continuous ridge is provided between the concentric grooves to separate the grooves and to provide a tightening point whereby the canvas may further be stretched across the opening of the frame. After the canvas has been fixed to the first groove. it is then pushed into and fixed to the bottom portion of the second groove thereby tightening the canvas across the frame opening. Elongated strips are provided to facilitate fastening the canvas within the second groove.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PICTURE FRAME BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The apparatus of the present invention relates basi cally to picture frames and especially to such frames providing integral means for mounting and stretching a canvas thereon.

Advances in the field of printing, particularlyin the field of lithography wherein color prints are reproduced of original paintings on canvas similar to the canvas originally used for the painting, has caused some difficulty in the picture framing industry. This difficulty arises from the fact that previously only original artwork was completed on such canvas and therefore the canvas was previously stretched and mounted on an inside stretcher frame by the artist prior to framing. New printing techniques, however, allow reproductions to be made on canvas without utilizing inside stretcher frames. Therefore, the framer must first stretch the print usually on inside stretchers, and then mount the print and stretcher frame within a decorative frame. This process is not only time consuming, but expensive to both the framer and the art purchaser.

The present invention was developed to eliminate the need for providing an inside stretcher frame. It enables the framer to mount canvas pictures directly to a decorative frame, or to a liner for a frame. Because of the rather new developments of producing printed material on canvas, patent search efforts have failed to find similar apparatus capable of efficiently accomplishing the purposes of the present invention. US. Pat. No. 333,628 to Heywood discloses a covered frame for furniture wherein chair seat material is stretched over a frame having two groovesformed in opposite sides of a support frame. The seat material is extended around the support frame so it overlaps both sides thereof. An annular ring member complementary to the grooves is then placed in each groove to tighten the seat material across the frame. Another US. Pat. No. 3,068,939 to N. B. Com misso discloses a frame for mounting plastic film wherein the plastic film is mounted between two frame members, the frame members each having com plem entary ridge and groove sections that fit together to tighten the plastic across the frame. Remaining patents resulting from a search disclosed only apparatus similar to the Commisso patent wherein two complementary members are joined together over the edge of a sheet of material to form the edge and stretch it taut between the frame members.

The present invention utilizes two concentric grooves that are continuous about a frame formed of members joined at mitered ends. The inside groove having a shallow inclined side surface directed toward the frame opening. The grooves are located on one side of the frame and require no complementary mating members to accomplish the task of stretching a canvas across the frame opening. Instead, staples and/or glue are. utilized to first fix the canvas edges into the outer peripheral grooves in a somewhat taut condition. The canvas is then forced into and fixed to the second, inward groove to stretch the canvas taut across the frame opening. A flexible strip of relatively thin material may be utilized to produce even tension across the canvasby placing it on the backside thereof and fastening it against the canvas in the second groove.

so I

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A picture frame is described comprising a plurality of elongated frame members having mitered ends joined togetherto define a planar frame opening. The members include outside edges extending about the frame periphery and inside edges spaced inwardly from the outside edges. The members also include frontal face portions. extending between the inside and outside edges and back portions facing rearwardly opposite to the frontal face portions. A first continuous groove (canvasfastening groove) is formed within the back portions about the frame intermediate its outside and inside edges and extending along the respective frame members parallel to the inside edges thereof. A second continuous groove (canvas tightening groove) is also formed about the back portions of the frame. It is located intermediate the first groove and the inside edges. The second groove is substantially parallel to the first groove along the respective frame members. A continuous ridge is also provided between the first and second grooves protruding rearwardly therefrom. The edges of a canvas sheet may befixed to the frame within the first groove by fastening means so that a front side of the canvas covers the frame opening and the ridge and concentric second groove. Canvas tight ening means is also provided for pressing the canvas into the second groove to tighten the material across the frame opening between the inside edges.

It is a first object of my invention ,to provide a picture frame 'that eliminates the usual need for a stretcher frame to mount canvas reproductions prior to framing.

It is a further object to provide such a picture frame wherein the canvas tightening provision is integral with the frame and does not require complementary frame members for mounting or stretching purposes.

It is a further object to provide such a frame wherein the taut canvas further serves to enhance the structural rigidity of the frame by holding the frame members together under tension.

It is a further object to provide such a frame that is very economical in construction and which may be easily incorporated on many known decorative frame moldings. Y

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description which, together. with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred form of my invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred form=of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is'an elevational rear fragmentary view of a DETAILED DESCRIPTION or A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A fragmentary portion of a canvas is indicated in the drawings by the reference numeral 9. Such canvases have been recently produced with lithographic reproductions of artwork on one side thereof. It is the primary purpose of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for mounting the canvas directly to a decorative picture frame with the picture portion held substantially taut across the picture opening of the frame.

A portion of a picture framed is illustrated in the drawings comprised of frame members 11 joined together at mitered ends 12. The frame members 11 when joined together complete the picture frame and define an interior opening 13 within which the artwork is displayed.

Each frame member 11 includes an inside edge 14. Edges l4 define the inner boundary of the picture frame and the outer boundary of the picture held within the frame. Members 11 also include outside edges 15 that define the periphery of the frame 10.

A frontal face portion on front face 17 is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. Face portion 17 is that portion of a picture frame normally facing the viewer and is therefore usually decorative in design. Opposite the frontal face section 17 is a back portion or rear face 18 extending between the inside and outside edges 14, 15, as does the frontal face 17.

Two continuous concentric grooves extending about the back portion 18 of the frame comprise the principal feature of my invention. A first or canvas fastening groove 20 is located on each frame member 11 inset in the rear face 18 and extending forwardly into the frame member toward the frontal face 17. As shown in the drawing, groove 20 includes a planar bottom surface 21 that extends along the members 1 1 parallel to the edges l4and 15. A second groove 23 is located inwardly of the first groove 20 and extends about the frame concentric with first groove 20. Second groove 23 also includes a flat bottom surface 24. However, it also includes a gradual beveled side surface 25 extending at a shallow inclineangle from a forward point at the intersection of side 25 and bottom section 24, rearwardly to a point 27 adjacent the inside edge 14. The beveled side surface 25 provides a tensioning feature that will be described in greater detail below.

Beveled side surface 25 extends inwardly across back portion 18 to intersect with a flat canvas engaging on inside back surface 28 that extends between point 27 and inside edge 14. As shown in FIG. 3, the surface 28 serves to engage the canvas about the borderline of the picture surface thereon. It may be noted that the portion of frame members 11 including surface 28 may be separate from the frame members 11 and included as a liner.

A continuous friction ridge 30 extends about the frame between grooves 20 and 23. Ridge 30 is actually formed of the adjacent side walls of grooves 20 and 23 that are adjoined by a top surface 31 extending between the groove edges.

A method for fastening a canvas 9 to a frame 10 comprised of members 11 is basically illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3. As a first step, the canvas 9 is fastened to the frame so that its peripheral edges partially overlap the canvas fastening groove 20. This outer edge is fastened to the frame within the first groove 20 by means of staples 34 and/or an adhesive between the canvas edge wrapped over the friction ridge 30 to minimize stress of the canvas in the fastening groove 20'. Progressively, the canvas is pulled over the inside back surface 28 and into the beveled groove 23. The shallow inclined surface 28 permits the canvas to be pulled uniformly from the center of the canvas outwardly into the groove 23 without causing localized stress of the canvas. As shown in FIG. 3, this step is accomplished by utilizing an elongated tightening strip 36 that extends the full length of groove 23 within each member 11. The tightening strip and canvas 9 are forceably secured within groove 23 by means of a second set of staples 35. An adhesive may be utilized between canvas 9 and groove 23 to further aid in securing the canvas to the frame members 1 1.

The taut condition of the canvas across the picture opening and the substantially rigid connection of the canvas to the frame members 11 substantially adds to the total rigidity of the picture frame by tightly holding the individual members 11 against one another.

Another feature of my invention is a rearward face section 38 that extends slightly rearwardly of the remainder of back portion 18. This face section 28 provides a protective rim about the back portion of the picture and further enables a cover to be placed over the back portion as a further protective measure. Additionally it should be noted that the top surface 31 of the friction ridge 30 extends rearward of the inside back surface 28 to facilitate the uniform tensioning of the canvas and to place the unsupported portion of the canvas away from a wall on which the picture or frame may be subsequently mounted.

It may have become obvious from the above description and accompanying drawings that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the intended scope of my invention. Therefore, only the following claims are to be taken as definitions of my invention.

What I claim is:

l. A picture frame assembly for canvas pictures comprising:

a plurality of mitered ends to define an opening between the members;

said frame members having outside peripheral edges;

said frame members having inside edges spaced inwardly from the outside edgesbordering the opening and substantially parallel to the outside edges along respective frame members;

said frame members having a rear face extending between the inside and outside edges intended to face a wall;

said frame member having a front face extending between the inside and outside edges intended to face outward from the wall;

a canvas fastening groove formed in the rear face intermediate the inside and outside edges, extending substantially parallel to the inside edges for receiving the boundary of a canvas picture;

a beveled canvas tightening groove formed in the rear face intermediate the fastening groove and the inside edges extending substantially parallel to the fastening groove forming a friction ridge intermediate the fastening groove and the canvas tightening groove.

said beveled canvas tightening groove forming a groove base surface and a beveled groove side surface extending at shallow inclined angle from the 6 groove base toward the inside edges terminating at for securing the canvas sheet to the base surface of an inside back Surface Of the rear face; the tightening groove with the canvas sheet taut said inside back surface extending from the canvas Over th i g d firmly engaging the inside tightening groove to the inside edges; back f a tasteningmeans for fastening the boundaty the 5 2. The picture frame assembly as defined in claim 1 g h plcture to t g rlnembets wlghm the wherein the friction ridge has a top surface edge and g z g fg y i A i g i g fi sf wherein the inside rear surface is inset forward of the g 0 rmg on n g6 n e an as outside rear surface to further facilitate the uniform tightening groove; and stretching of canvas over the opening canvas ti htenin means for ressin the canvas sheet g g p g 10 3. The picture frame assembly as defined in claim 1 adjacent the tightening groove into the beveled tightening groove to wrap the canvas Sheet Over wherein the canvas tightening groove deeper than the against the friction ridge to minimize stress of the Canvas t'astehthg groove with the base surface of the canvas in the fastening groov a d t if l canvas tightening groove forward of a base surface of stretch the canvas outward over the inside back 15 the canvas fastening groove. surface and into the beveled tightening groove and 

1. A picture frame assembly for canvas pictures comprising: a plurality of mitered ends to define an opening between the members; said frame members having outside peripheral edges; said frame members having inside edges spaced inwardly from the outside edges bordering the opening and substantially parallel to the outside edges along respective frame members; said frame members having a rear face extending between the inside and outside edges intended to face a wall; said frame member having a front face extending between the inside and outside edges intended to face outward from the wall; a canvas fastening groove formed in the rear face intermediate the inside and outside edges, extending substantially parallel to the inside edges for receiving the boundary of a canvas picture; a beveled canvas tightening groove formed in the rear face intermediate the fastening groove and the inside edges extending substantially parallel to the fastening groove forming a friction ridge intermediate the fastening groove and the canvas tightening groove. said beveled canvas tightening groove forming a groove base surface and a beveled groove side surface extending at shallow inclined angle from the groove base toward the inside edges terminating at an inside back surface of the rear face; said inside back surface extending from the canvas tightening groove to the inside edges; a fastening means for fastening the boundary of the canvas picture to the frame members within the fastening groove with the canvas spaning the opening and covering the friction ridge and the canvas tightening groove; and canvas tightening means for pressing the canvas sheet adjacent the tightening groove into the beveled tightening groove to wrap the canvas sheet over against the friction ridge to minimize stress of the canvas in the fastening groove and to uniformly stretch the canvas outward over the inside back surface and into the beveled tightening groove and for securing the canvas sheet to the base surface of the tightening groove with the canvas sheet taut over the opening and firmly engaging the inside back surface.
 2. The picture frame assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein the friction ridge has a top surface edge and wherein the inside rear surface is inset forward of the outside rear surface to further facilitate the uniform stretching of canvas over the opening.
 3. The picture frame assembly as defined in claim 1 wherein the canvas tightening groove is deeper than the canvas fastening groove with the base surface of the canvas tightening groove forward of a base surface of the canvas fastening groove. 